Charity not happy over
500-mile
trips

Council-run Portsmouth care home put into special measures

A HAMPSHIRE charity has criticised the government for making asylum-seekers travel up to 500 miles to and from Liverpool as part of their appeal process.

The Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group said they have been forced to pay hundreds of pounds in train fares so clients can hand in documents for their case.

Jenny Cuffe, from the charity, told the BBC that people coming to the UK from abroad would often have their initial appeal for asylum rejected, so would have to travel to Liverpool to provide additional documentation.

This could include a medical record showing they had previously been tortured.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: ‘The further submissions process applies only to failed asylum-seekers whose claims have already been carefully considered by UK Visas and Immigration, and their cases examined at appeal and found by the independent courts not to need protection or have any other basis to stay in the UK.’